MINISTERS TO REVIEW GLOBAL ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

24 June 1996

Press Release
HE/935

MINISTERS TO REVIEW GLOBAL ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

19960624 GENEVA, 20 June (UNEP) -- The second session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Convention will begin in Geneva on 8 July. Senior officials from 150 countries are expected to attend the two-week meeting. A two-day ministerial segment will be held on 16 and 17 July to help in finalizing the decisions of the Conference.

The Parties to the Convention will review progress made so far by the international community to control greenhouse gas emissions and to meet other obligations of the treaty. The Conference will also take stock of talks -- now at a critical half-way mark -- that should lead to stronger commitments for developed countries concerning their greenhouse gas emissions.

The President-designate of the Conference and Minister for Environment and Tourism of Zimbabwe, Chen Chimutengwende, said "our broader goal will be to pave the way for a new era of trust, where all countries do their best at the national level to work for the common good of the global community". He added: "Unless we cooperate to minimize our impact on the climate system, we risk undermining the ability of future generations to pursue sustainable development."

In the opening day, the Conference will deal with organizational matters. The four subsidiary bodies of the Conference of the Parties will then meet from 9 to 16 July. Based on their work, the Conference will resume with a ministerial segment on 17 and 18 July. The ministers will attempt to resolve the major outstanding issues so that the Conference can conclude on Friday, 19 July, by adopting its decisions.

The first session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention was held last year in Berlin. Among the session's conclusions was that the present commitment of developed countries to take measures aimed at returning their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 is not adequate. The first session adopted the Berlin Mandate, launching new talks on a "protocol or another legal instrument" containing stronger commitments for developed countries after the year 2000. The new commitments are expected to be adopted at the third session of the Conference of the Parties to be held in 1997.

The negotiations on future commitments are taking place within the Ad Hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate. The Group is debating the specific policies

and measures that could be included in the new commitments. Among the many possibilities being considered are energy-efficiency standards for traded products, the removal of electricity and transport subsidies, financial support to promote energy efficiency, full-cost pricing of energy, carbon and energy taxes, voluntary agreements with industry to promote demand-side efficiency, and reductions in agricultural and forestry emissions.

The agreed policies and measures will be used to achieve specific emissions reductions in all greenhouse gases by specific dates. The range of options has started to narrow and includes: (a) a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2005 with reference to 1990 levels; (b) a 10 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2005 and a 15 to 20 per cent reduction by 2010, both against the base year of 1990; and (c) a 5 to 10 per cent reduction in all gases by 2010 compared to 1990.

Another issue to be taken up by the Conference and its subsidiary bodies is a report that evaluates the trends and projections for emissions of the so-called Annex I countries -- a list that includes mainly developed and transition countries. The report reveals that the carbon dioxide emissions of most developed countries are likely to exceed 1990 levels in the year 2000, unless additional measures are taken. In countries with economies in transition, carbon dioxide emissions declined sharply in the first half of this decade, but may start growing again in the second half (although without exceeding earlier levels).

The Executive Secretary of the Convention's secretariat, Michael Zammit Cutajar, says that "any new agreement on how much and how fast to reduce emissions must be credible, particularly since many developed countries are likely to miss the current aim of returning to 1990 levels by the year 2000 without a change in course".

A problem that continues to plague the Convention process is a lack of agreement on rules of procedure. Unless that issue is resolved, there will be no mechanism for voting on a protocol next year. If the protocol cannot be adopted by consensus, Parties might consider amending the Convention (with a three-fourths majority vote) or trying another approach.

Other important matters affecting the Convention process include the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and activities implemented jointly. The GEF is currently the interim financial mechanism for the Convention, and a debate may take place on whether or not to give it permanent status. The pilot phase for activities implemented jointly by developed country and developing or transition country partners is now one year old and will be reviewed.

In addition to the official activities, the meeting will also showcase a number of vital initiatives and reports. Of particular significance is the growing support of key business sectors for action under the Convention.

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Insurance companies, 57 of which have signed the statement of environmental commitment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will inform delegates about the dramatic risk climate change poses to their industry. International firms active in new energy technologies will also be present.

Also during the Conference, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will present its second assessment report, which was adopted last December and officially released on 5 June. It includes a detailed and wide- ranging assessment of the climate system, environmental and socio-economic impacts, and policy options for controlling emissions and adapting to a climate-change world. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) will release a report on the health implications of climate change.

The Convention was signed by 154 governments plus the European Community (now the European Union) at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It entered into force on 21 March 1994 and so far has been ratified by almost 160 countries.

The Convention secretariat will relocate from Geneva to Bonn following the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties. While the next series of meetings related to the Convention will be held in Geneva in December, starting in 1997 most meetings will be held in Bonn.

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NOTE:For further information, please contact Michael Williams, at UNEP Information Unit on Conventions, in Geneva. Phone: 41-22-979-9242 or -9244; fax: 41-22-797-3464. E-mail: mwilliams@unep.ch. Official documents and other materials of the Conference are available on the Internet at http://www.unep.ch/iucc.html.